Parma Animal Shelter: Shelter Foster Support Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

Thanks to the generous support of the Petfinder Foundation, Parma Animal Shelter has been able to make meaningful, measurable improvements to the physical and emotional wellbeing of the cats in our care. This enrichment grant allowed us to invest in equipment that supports healthier movement, reduces stress, and increases adoptability—especially for the many frightened or undersocialized cats who arrive needing time and space to decompress.
Expanding Exercise and Physical Health
With the grant funds, we added a variety of climbing and activity‑based enrichment items, including:
- Cat trees and vertical climbing structures
- Puzzle feeders and interactive toys
- To be purchased - Three‑tiered enclosures equipped with scratching posts and built‑in hiding spaces. (We are still fundraising for these).
These additions give cats more opportunities for natural movement—jumping, stretching, scratching, and exploring—which directly supports joint health, muscle tone, and overall physical wellbeing. The new enclosures will also prevent cats from climbing on top of older cages, where they are difficult to safely access or assess.
Supporting Mental Wellbeing and Stress Reduction
Many cats like DoubleStuff, Kittmass, Midge, Ashley, Cheddar and Tiger arrive at the shelter scared, shut down, or overwhelmed by the transition. The new enrichment items have created calmer, more predictable environments where cats can:
- Retreat to safe hiding spots during their initial adjustment
- Observe their surroundings from elevated perches once they feel secure
- Engage in natural behaviors that reduce stress and frustration
Providing both hiding places and vertical space has been especially impactful. Cats feel safer when they can choose to be out of sight, and once they settle in, they instinctively seek high vantage points to survey their environment. These options help them regain confidence at their own pace.
Improving Adoptability
As cats become more relaxed and behaviorally balanced, their personalities shine through more quickly. We’ve seen:
- Faster transitions from fearful to social
- More playful, confident behavior during meet‑and‑greets
- Increased interest from adopters who appreciate seeing cats in enriched, home‑like settings
The enrichment equipment will help us present each cat at their best, making it easier for adopters to imagine them thriving in a home. It will especially help cats like Cheddar who is FIV positive and has to stay in one enclosure. He needs SPACE!
Volunteer‑Driven, Practical Decision‑Making
To ensure the grant funds are used responsibly and sustainably, we surveyed our cat caregivers—the people who clean, feed, and handle the cats every day. Their feedback has guided our choices toward items that are:
- Easy to sanitize
- Durable under heavy use
- Designed so cats remain accessible when they need to be moved or examined
This collaborative approach ensures that every purchase supports both animal welfare and daily shelter operations.

We are deeply grateful to the Petfinder Foundation for making these improvements possible. The enrichment grant has strengthened our ability to provide compassionate, high‑quality care and has had a direct, positive impact on the health, comfort, and adoptability of the cats who rely on us.

Thanks to the generous grant from the Petfinder Foundation, Parma Animal Shelter was able to purchase a wide range of essential supplies for our foster program, including feeding kits, heating pads, flea combs, toys, baby kitty nursers, cat trees, scratchers, humidifiers, playpens, kitten‑sized litter boxes, scales, enrichment items, and more. These resources have made an immediate difference for our foster families, allowing them to confidently care for neonatal kittens, medical cases, and young litters who need specialized support. Having the right tools on hand has reduced stress for both fosters and kittens, and has helped us place vulnerable animals in safe, well‑equipped homes more quickly.

With the additional grant dedicated to cat enrichment, we are currently surveying our volunteers to determine the most effective equipment to purchase for our shelter cats. Their feedback is helping us prioritize items that balance durability, ease of cleaning, and the ability to give cats meaningful exercise and stimulation — while ensuring they remain accessible when staff or volunteers need to move them. This thoughtful approach, made possible by your support, will help us create a safer, more engaging environment for the cats in our care.

We are deeply grateful for your partnership and for the positive impact these grants continue to have on our animals, our volunteers, and our community.

How many pets did this grant help?

400

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Clementine arrived at Parma Animal Shelter late one night, long after we had closed, but while a few volunteers were still finishing up their work. A man rushed in carrying a small, terrified cat and told us he thought she’d been hit by a car. Her right front leg was swollen to twice its normal size and she had a visible wound that looked deeply infected. Even in the dim light of the lobby, we could see she was in serious trouble.

We brought her to the vet, where we learned the heartbreaking truth: Clementine hadn’t been hit by a car at all — she had been attacked. She had a severely infected wound on her right front leg, another puncture wound high on her thigh, and bite marks on all four paws. She was exhausted, in pain, and fighting a dangerous infection. To save her life, we had to make an agonizing decision: Her injured leg would need to be amputated.

Clementine stayed in the hospital overnight and then went straight into foster care with our Health and Welfare chairperson, Rita, the next day. Rita is one of our most experienced foster moms, but even she faced a challenge: twice-daily dressing changes, laser treatments every other day, and the constant worry that comes with caring for a critically injured animal.

This is where the Petfinder Foundation’s Shelter Foster Support Grant made all the difference.

Because of this generous grant, we were able to provide Clementine with everything she needed to recover safely and comfortably in a foster home. She received soft bedding, nutritious food, a special low-sided litter box, litter, a scale to monitor her weight, a pet-safe heating pad to keep her warm, and a secure playpen to ensure she stayed safe while healing. These supplies didn’t just support Clementine — they supported Rita, giving her the tools she needed to provide expert care without added financial strain.

Clementine continues to heal, though her journey isn’t over. One of her injured paws recently developed an abscess, and she is currently at the vet for an x‑ray to check for a possible fractured digit. Even so, she remains sweet, resilient, and determined. Thanks to the toys and enrichment items purchased through the grant, we know playtime — and brighter days — are in her future.

We are deeply grateful to the Petfinder Foundation for helping us give Clementine the second chance she deserves. Your support has strengthened our foster program for years, and personally, it means a great deal to me. I was Parma Animal Shelter’s first webmaster back in 1999, and joining the Petfinder pet list was one of the best decisions I ever made. My pitch back then was simple: “People will fall in love with a picture and want to come in to adopt.” Decades later, that belief still guides us — and Clementine is living proof of the lives that can be saved when shelters and supporters work together.